Feedback on Oral English in the time of COVID-19 crisis: The Bangladesh Chapter

In EFL online education, speaking has been commonly found to be the least developed skill.This research explores the availability, nature, and effectiveness of feedback in online speaking English classes of undergraduate students.Data were collected from teachers and students from private universities in Bangladesh primarily employing interviews and FGDs.Second Generation Activity Theory of Engestrm (1987) and three principles of effective feedback by Royce Sadler (1989) have been used to analyze the data.The findings demonstrate that students received both in-class and out-of-classroom feedback.Teachers used Email, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and phone calls to provide feedback.They particularly kept in mind the COVID-19-related mental stress of students in offering such feedback.Students knew the learning objectives before the lessons, but not all teachers compared students' current level with the standard level while providing feedback.However, suggestions were provided to improve students' performance.The findings have important implications for the stakeholders who attend or conduct fully online or blended learning activities.